Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Travel And Tour World had an exclusive interview with Alonzo Rubattino Salomón who represented Peru at Madrid FITUR 2019. Alonzo Rubattino Salomón is the Foreign Trade and Investment Analyst at Commercial Office of Peru in Spain.
Travel And Tour World: How important is your destination for the Europe market especially with respect to MICE, events and conventions?
Alonzo: We have recognized during the first edition of MICE events of FITUR that there is lot of interest for the European market using Peru as MICE destination.
Peru is the rich country having large variety of destinations. Usually people relate it to Machu Picchu only, but now we are showing many different centres in the north, centre and the jungle.
Travel And Tour World: Since Peru is the most prominent destination in South America, so America is also your big market?
Alonzo: First market for Peru travel and tourism is Chile but with respect to international tourists, Spain would be the main market.
Travel And Tour World: Can you talk of the convention centres you have in Peru – facilities, number of people that can be hosted etc.?
Alonzo: Main convention centres are at Lima, the capital. We have really large places where we can hold 100-1000 people. There are many places like Paracas near the sea. Cusco is another big destination for conventions.
Travel And Tour World: In terms of international MICE destination why is Peru placed?
Alonzo: There are several reasons. One of it is the climate in Peru which is good most of the year. We have Macchu Picchu, and natural huge resources. One of our strengths is astronomy which is worldwide recognized. Lot of people go to Peru to enjoy the astronomy of this side of the world.
Travel And Tour World: Can you talk of major airlines, say from Europe to Peru, and connectivity?
Alonzo: There are daily flights from Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam and London. They have direct flight to Lima. There are many connections inside Peru. The main names of airlines would be LATAM, Iberia, for example. There are many other frequent flights to Peru.
Travel And Tour World: What about North American market?
Alonzo: North American market is big part of the market for Peruvian tourism. It is second one in importance.
Travel And Tour World: Which big MICE group you have managed recently?
Alonzo: We managed many groups of sectors. Recently, the main destination has been Iquitos – new destination.
Travel And Tour World: Madrid is your very important market, so how important is FITUR for you?
Alonzo: We have been participating for 20 years constantly. Since this is the first MICE event of FITUR, this is an opportunity to show the world how big Peru is as MICE destination.
